Optometrist

Job description: They diagnose, manage, and treat conditions and diseases of the human eye and visual system, but make just a fraction as much as some other medical professionals. For comparison, the average pediatrician earns $183,180 a year, and dentists, who undergo a similar amount of training, earn $177,130.

Educational requirements: A bachelor's degree is required, followed by a four-year stint in optometry school to earn an OD. A residency sometimes follows that for those who want to pursue a particular specialty.

Biomedical engineer

Job description: These engineers work on building solutions for problems in biology and medicine.

Educational requirements: Some undergraduate programs offer degrees in biomedical or biomechanical engineering, but other paths include a more general engineering degree and a master's focusing on biomedical applications.

Chemist

Job description: Chemists study the properties, structures, and reactions of substances and develop new products or processes for making them.

Educational requirements: A bachelor's is the minimum, but research jobs require a master's or Ph.D.

College professor

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Average annual earnings:$77,480

Job description: Professors teach students beyond the high-school level in addition to conducting research and writing papers and sometimes books. Pay for professors in areas like physics or economics is higher.

Educational requirements: Generally a Ph.D. is required. A master's might be enough for professors at some colleges or universities.

Accountant or auditor

Job description: Accountants serve a variety of functions: Calculating, reporting, and checking financial information for individuals and companies. Auditors perform systematic evaluations of data, records, statements, or performance for a legal or other purpose.

Educational requirements: Both jobs generally require at least a bachelor's, and those with an accounting degree will often work toward becoming a certified public accountant. Some employers prefer a master's or an MBA with a focus on accounting.

Budget analyst

REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

Average annual earnings:$75,150

Job description: Help companies, organizations, or the government organize finances and set program budgets.

Educational requirements: At least a bachelor's degree and sometimes a master's for more senior roles or certain institutions.

Architect, surveyor, or cartographer

Job description: Architects plan and design buildings and other types of structures.

Educational requirements: Most accredited architecture programs in the US that grant the license needed to practice are five-year programs that combine a bachelor's and master's. Two-year master's programs are available as well, though some skip the master's degree. A license is required.

Genetic counselor

Job description:Genetic counselors assess individual or family risk for a variety of inherited conditions, such as genetic disorders and birth defects. They provide information and advice to other healthcare providers, or to individuals and families concerned with the risk of inherited conditions.

Educationalrequirements: Typically need at least a master's degree in genetic counseling or genetics, although some earn a Ph.D.

Chef or head cook

Job description: This job covers the whole spectrum, from celebrity chef-owners of restaurants to lead chefs at somebody else's restaurant and the most senior chef at a chain restaurant. But despite the long hours, late nights, and lack of holidays off — and their glamorous portrayal in the media — it is only top-tier chefs and chef-owners who make the big bucks.

Legislator

Job description: These are elected positions, and the salary figure is for full-time staffers, which may not include all state and local elected officials. They debate, draft, and vote on laws at the federal and state levels.

Educationalrequirements: None explicitly required, but most legislators, particularly on the national level, have at least a bachelor's degree. Many have professional degrees as well, most commonly a J.D.